Failed Heroes of the Left: Tony Blair

I know neighbour of Tony Blair, that was invited to tea at his house. My friend is not interested in politics, but his quick impression many years ago was that "Tony Blair is just interested in what's in it for him". I personally will never forget the video of his final appearance at this Sedgwick constituency, where after waiting years for him to do something for them, his constituents, the working class supporters, were discarded with as much care as a used tissue paper.

Well, several years down the road and Blair still has 5 teams of police protecting all his mansions at our expense, and the true extent of his and Cherie's fortunes are known, and even the dumb left are feeing betrayed. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Tony Blair's fortune boosted £13m by 'bumper year'

Newly published accounts show former PM Tony Blair's business interests around the world are booming, according to a City accountant

Tony Blair has taken to flying around the world in a £30 million private jet which he charters on a regular basisPhoto: ANDREW CROWLEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Tony Blair has more than £13 million deposited in the bank following his most commercially successful year since quitting Downing Street.

The latest accounts for a network of companies used to run his growing business empire show Mr Blair’s business interests around the world are booming. Profits at one company alone, which he owns, totalled almost £2 million while shareholder funds on two businesses total £7 million.

The accounts, for the 12 months to April 2013 and which were lodged at Companies House last week, give the best indication yet of Mr Blair’s earning power. His wealth, including a London townhouse, a country estate and several other properties, is estimated at £70 million.

The latest accounts do not give a full picture of Mr Blair’s assets but suggest he has had a “bumper” year, according to one City accountant who has analysed the figures.

Mr Blair administers his commercial empire through a complex series of companies and partnerships, headed by two businesses – Windrush Ventures Limited and Firerush Ventures Limited. The companies were set up by the former prime minister when he left office.

Through the companies, Mr Blair runs his global consultancies. It is understood that Windrush Ventures channels money for Mr Blair’s Government Advisory Practice, which advises national and regional governments on how to implement policies and reforms in a model based on his time in Downing Street.

Firerush Ventures administers the funding for Mr Blair and his team’s work advising companies and sovereign wealth funds. Both firms operate under the umbrella of Tony Blair Associates.

The fullest picture comes from the accounts for Windrush Ventures Limited, which show it enjoyed a turnover of £14.9 million for the 12 months to April 1 2013 and a profit after tax of almost £2 million, a rise of £650,000 on the previous year. Cash in the bank and “in hand” totals £8.8 million, up from £1.5 million the previous year.

Windrush employs 35 people and has a total wage bill of close to £3 million, almost £1 million more than last year.

Mr Blair’s staff earn an average of £86,000, while the company’s highest paid director receives £273,000. That director is thought to be either Catherine Rimmer, Mr Blair’s chief of staff and a former Downing Street aide, or else David Lyon, a former Barclays investment banker who was recruited by Mr Blair in 2012 to “grow and develop” Mr Blair’s business activities.

The accounts show that Windrush paid corporation tax on its profits of £653,000. Although the company generated turnover of almost £15 million, it paid tax on only a fraction of that because £12.1 million was paid out in expenses, to cover the cost of office rents, travel and hotel bills for Mr Blair and his team. The tax was paid out – quite legitimately – on only the company’s profits.

Accounts for another of Mr Blair’s linked companies, called Windrush Ventures No1 Limited, disclose that Mr Blair lent his own company £1.24 million in 2012 at a commercial rate of 5.5 per cent. The accounts show Mr Blair was repaid the loan in December 2012 “with applicable loan interest”. It is not clear why Mr Blair lent his own company the money but he earned interest on the deal of £75,000 in the course of the year.

Firerush Ventures Limited also enjoyed a bumper year. It is a smaller company than Windrush and as a consequence is not required by law to give as much detail about the state of its finances.

But the accounts show cash at the bank and in hand totalling £4.6 million, up from £1.2 million the previous year, and shareholder funds worth £1.6 million. The two companies between them had cash of £13.4 million and shareholder funds worth £7 million. Mr Blair is the ultimate owner of the businesses.

Mr Blair has earned a fortune since leaving office and has taken to flying around the world in a £30 million private jet which he charters on a regular basis.

He is an official adviser to JP Morgan, the investment bank, and to Zurich International, the Swiss-based global insurance company. But he and his team also advise wealthy governments such as oil and gas-rich Kazakhstan, presided over by its autocratic ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev. That deal, worth millions of pounds, has attracted criticism.

Mr Blair also has deals with mineral-rich Mongolia, with governments in Latin America and also in the Gulf states of Kuwait and Abu Dhabi. He is a regular visitor to China and the US and can earn as much as £250,000 a time for private speeches and appearances.

Mr Blair insists he does not make as much money as he could because he uses his profits from his commercial dealings to fund his philanthropic activities. He runs two global charities – a faith foundation and a not-for-profit organisation advising African governments – whose accounts are filed separately.

One City accountant, who has studied Mr Blair’s accounts, said: “These numbers are a big improvement on last year. Mr Blair has had a very good year. This is a bumper year – his best year yet.”

In a statement on his website, The Office of Tony Blair said: “These are the financial statements of the two companies through which the operating costs of the Tony Blair group’s global activities are paid. They do not represent his earnings or the earnings or the profit of his businesses and are not referable to them.”

The statement explains that Windrush is holding a surplus “for reinvestment in expanding the business”. The statement went on: “As a smaller company Firerush only publishes abbreviated accounts. It is a company that is solely for administering the costs of the business.

“The £1.5 million surplus for the financial year therefore represents the running costs and money retained for reinvestment in the business; on which corporation tax is paid.

“Full corporation tax is paid by all the businesses. The money made by Mr Blair from the Windrush and Firerush businesses is not published in these accounts; it is though, subject to full personal income tax. Mr Blair continues to be a UK taxpayer and pays full personal tax on all his earnings worldwide.”

Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair offered to boost the reputation and influence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in return for $35 million, it has emerged.

Blair, whose role in the Iraq war was savaged by the long-awaited Chilcot report last week, is on friendly terms with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayad Al Nahyan.

The multimillionaire former politician secured a $7 million-a-year-deal to promote the UAE in 2014 – the “strategic partnership” arrangement includes payment for monthly visits from Blair to UAE, professional fees, expenses and private offices.

It comes on top of an existing deal between Tony Blair Associates and the UAE, where the Gulf state pays for the organization’s services to developing nations around the world.

One of the richest of the Gulf States, the UAE has been criticized for its human rights record, its lack of electoral democracy and its involvement in the Saudi-led war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

It adopted a new law last year that bans vandalism and insults to “God, his prophets or apostles or holy books.” It also bars epithets such as “infidel” or “unbeliever.”

According to the Sunday Telegraph, which first reported the business deal, the scale of the arrangement shows how lucrative Blair’s consultancy business has become.

The contract was due to run for five years, according to company documents, and asked for professional fees of $6.21 million a year and an additional $688,000 to cover the organization’s annual expenses.

Blair was Middle East peace envoy at the time of signing the deal. In this role, he worked to improve the economic situation of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and sought investment from nearby Gulf States.

As part of the deal, the UAE covered the costs of monthly visits by Blair, a “furnished office” and even phone bills.

In a letter of proposal, Blair said his consultancy “can help create networks of connection that capitalize” on the UAE’s financial clout.

“There is a big opportunity for it [the UAE] to build its brand and reputation, and to establish powerful networks of influence.”

The former PM boasts of his extensive network, which operates “in around 25 different countries,” a figure which doubles to 50 when his work with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation is included.

“There is virtually nowhere in the world right now where we could not work or provide the necessary contacts either politically or commercially, should we want to.”

A spokesperson for Blair said, “This is old news and that draft proposal went no further as we have already made clear. In any event fees would not go to Mr. Blair but to invest in the business and pay for staff and costs.”

“Mr. Blair does all his work in the Middle East on a Not For Profit basis‎. The suggestion that he is personally ‘profiting’ from the Iraq war is offensive and wrong.”

How about some real public analysis over why we went to war in Iraq (and Libya and are pushing for entry into Syria) instead of the platitudes of the spoof anti war movement about it being a pointless war - it was pointless for western citizens yes - but it was not pointless for the cabal that conned the public into it.

The money is supposed to be spent on office, correspondence and public speaking costs associated with any public role former prime ministers continue to play.

The arrangements, which were previously confidential, emerged in a hearing last month at the freedom of information tribunal, theSunday Timesreported.

A hearing on 22 October was told that theCabinet Office, which runs the allowance scheme, did hold evidence submitted by the other former premiers.

Officials at the Cabinet Office have fought for years to prevent any receipts and evidence for the PDCA coming to light.

Civil servants have said that the total amount each politician had claimed every year should be published, but not the details of what the money has been claimed for.

Sharon Carter, head of the propriety and ethics team at the Cabinet Office, said in a witness statement for the hearing: “There has been no expectation that the information provided in support of the claims for the PDCA would be made public.

“The total amounts claimed have been published for some years and the expectation of the former prime ministers was that this was an appropriate level of transparency.”

A spokesman for Mr Blair said: “Tony Blair receives what is given to former prime ministers in exactly the same way as his predecessors, including reimbursement for costs associated with his former role.”

The then-head of the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team recommended that Sir Nick be given a lower allowance than the former premiers because he only served as deputy prime minister, but this was ignored and he has been allowed to claim the full £115,000 a year.

In the last year for which figures were published, 2016-17, Mr Blair and Mr Major both claimed the maximum possible of £115,000, while Mr Brown claimed £114,838, Sir Nick claimed £114, 982 and Mr Cameron claimed £50,227.

The PDCA was established by Mr Major in 1991, one year after he took over as prime minister from Margaret Thatcher.

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